Device for wetting a carrier medium such as a paper web

ABSTRACT

A device for wetting a carrier medium, such as a paper web, a material web, a nonwoven web or a woven fabric web or a knitted fabric web, is provided, having an injection unit consisting of a first elongate hollow element with an opening, preferably with a plurality of openings which are spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction, and of a pump which is connected to the elongate hollow element, pumps the wetting liquid through the elongate hollow element and through the opening or the openings, and, as a result, injects a single or multiple jet into the carrier medium.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for moisturizing a carriermedium, such as a paper web, a material web, a non-woven material web ora fabric web or a knitted material web.

Such apparatuses are, for example, known from the EP 1450660 B1, the EP1597993 B1 and from the WO 2010/072298.

While the apparatuses in accordance with the two mentioned EP documentsare suitable for moisturizing paper webs by means of watery liquids, theapparatus in accordance with the mentioned WO document is intended forthe moisturization by means of liquids having volatile components, suchas alcohol, for the purpose of cleaning and/or sterilizing hands of asurgeon or of a mechanic or of surfaces, for example in operatingtheatres or in clean rooms. Practical experience with the mentionedapparatuses has shown that they indeed satisfy their intended purposeand, in particular that it is possible to uniformly moisturize a paperweb by means of a roller, in particular a grooved roller, without thewetted paper web, which is relatively weak, tearing during thedispensing and/or the removal. The apparatus in accordance with the saidWO document moreover avoids the occurrence of interfering evaporationlosses also then when the liquid having volatile components is presentin a bath over a longer period of time of days or weeks, into which baththe underside of the grooved roller is immersed.

It is a little problematic having regard to the mentioned apparatuses,however, that these have a design which is demanding in effort and cost,in particular for the variant in accordance with the WO 2010/072298 inwhich a sealed lid is required above the bath. Furthermore, independence on the application, for example, for the moisturizing oftoilet paper with water or the moisturizing of paper webs for thepurpose of sterilization, different constructions are required such thatdifferent designs are required for the different purposes.

The object of the present invention lies therein in providing a noveland compact apparatus for the moisturization of carrier media which canbe used for different purposes of moisturization and with regard todifferent properties of the liquids, such as the viscosity or thevolatility, by means of only a few minor adaptations, which apparatus isrelatively simple and cost-effective in its manufacture, but stillenables a uniform, evaporation-free or at least substantiallyevaporation-free moisturization and avoids undesired losses of theliquid to be applied.

In order to emphasize the object on which the present invention is basedit is also indicated that approximately 3 g of isopropanol have to bedistributed onto the surface of the sheet of paper on use of a paper webhaving individual sections of approximately A4 size for the purpose ofsterilization. This presents critical requirements on the dispensing ofthe liquid when this has to be distributed full area-wise and to someextent uniformly on an A4-sized section.

However, it is not necessarily required to achieve an absolute uniformdistribution of the liquid, since liquid applied point-wise onto thecarrier medium will distribute itself in a relatively short space oftime both in the longitudinal direction and in the transverse directionfor a strongly absorbing carrier medium. Nevertheless a regulardispensing of the liquid should take place in such a way that acomparatively uniform distribution is present directly after thedischarge of the sections. An excess moisturization of the carriermedium has to be avoided by all means in most cases, since wet positionscan decrease the strength of the material web so far that an undesiredtear of the web has to be feared for materials, such as paper.

In order to satisfy this object an apparatus for the moisturization of acarrier medium, such as a paper web, a material web, a non-wovenmaterial web, or a fabric web, or a knitted material web is provided inaccordance with the invention having an injection unit comprising anelongate hollow member and/or an injection tube having an opening,preferably having a plurality of openings spaced apart from one anotherin the longitudinal direction and comprising a pump connected to theelongate hollow member which pumps the moisturizing liquid through theelongate member and through the opening and/or the openings and herebyinjects a single jet or multiple-jets into the carrier medium.

By means of this apparatus the jet is applied into the carrier medium ordirectly onto the carrier medium in a homogeneous and compact manner andindeed without a finely distributed spray mist arising during a sprayprocess which leads to a loss of liquids. In this manner a controlled,completed atomization-free and completely evaporation-free orsubstantially evaporation-free uniform liquid impingement onto differentcarrier medium results.

Furthermore, the carrier medium can hereby be impinged in a uniformmanner with a constant amount per unit area. Furthermore, none or onlyvery small amounts of the contents of the liquid volatizes during theimpingement process. The carrier medium can always be impinged in amanner completely covering the surface thereof. The guidance of thecarrier medium in the region of the injection unit allows the loss-freeand complete impingement of the same.

The carrier medium is guided through a suitable guide apparatus inaccordance with the invention completely or partly around the elongatehollow body, this means around the injection tube without a definedspacing or at a defined spacing.

In this manner, the liquid can be brought into the carrier mediumdirectly or can at least be brought substantially directly onto thecarrier medium which likewise ensures that losses hardly arise.

The apparatus has an output mechanism which is, in particular arrangedat the inlet side of the elongate hollow body and enables the collectionof a sheet-like part, which can be output, of the web of the carriermedium in the wet state without a subsequent part being moisturized.

The output of the carrier medium is preferably controlled by means of anelectronic pulse generator.

It is particularly advantageous when the elongate hollow member of theinjection unit cooperates with a hollow slider which is configured forcarrying out a relative movement with respect to the elongate hollowmember which slider serves for a release and/or a closure of the saidopenings.

In this connection the slider can be arranged within or outside of thehollow member.

Furthermore, the slider can be configured for carrying out a linearmovement or a rotational movement with respect to the elongate hollowmember or a combined rotational and linear movement can take place.

It is not necessarily required that the slider moves, rather more theslider could be fixedly arranged and the elongate hollow member can bemovably arranged for an opening and a closing of the said openings orboth the slider and the elongate hollow member can be moved.

Furthermore, the relative movement can be configured in such a way thatthe opening width of the openings can be controlled for metering theliquid dispensing.

Seals can be arranged between the slider and the elongate hollow memberin order to avoid leaks, in particular in the closed state of theopenings.

It is particularly favorable when both the elongate hollow member andthe slider are formed by a respective hollow tubular section, whereinone of the hollow sections can have a longitudinal slot in thelongitudinal direction.

The openings of the elongate hollow member and/or the hollow tube canhave an outline which is selected from the group comprising circular,oval, elliptical, quadratic, rectangular, triangular and polygonal.

The cross-sectional surfaces of the openings can be selected alike ordifferent, the latter in particular then, when a uniform amount ofliquid dispensed out of each opening should be compensated on a pressuredecrease along the hollow tube by increasing the opening cross-sectionor when a deliberate non-uniform liquid dispensing along the elongatehollow member is desired.

The passages in the walls of the elongate member which open at theopenings can have a form which, starting from the interior of the hollowsections and going towards the outside, is selected from the groupcomprising converging, diverging, initially converging and subsequentlydiverging, initially converging and subsequently diverging,trumpet-shaped and vase-shaped. Such shapes can be generated withoutfurther ado by spark erosion, by electrochemical processing or by meansof a laser beam or a water jet.

When the liquid is taken from a non-collapsible bottle, then apreferably controllable valve is installed in the line between thebottle and the injection unit which valve is opened by the pump for theliquid retrieval and output and enables an air supply into the bottlefor a pressure compensation. In contrast to this, a thin walled bottlecompressible by the environmental pressure, this means a collapsiblebottle can be used in such a way that a breather valve is not required.The pump can possibly serve as an on/off valve.

The apparatus and/or the injection system can be used under stationaryor mobile conditions.

The invention will be described in detail in the following by means ofembodiments with reference to the drawings, in which is shown:

FIG. 1 an apparatus in accordance with the invention in a sectionalillustration;

FIG. 2 an enlarged illustration of the hollow tube of the design inaccordance with FIG. 1 in order to show the selectability of the lengthof the hollow tube;

FIG. 3A to 3H different possibilities of the arrangement of the openingsof the hollow tubes;

FIG. 4 a plurality of alternatives for the circumferential shape of theopening;

FIG. 5 different possible cross-sectional shapes of the passages whichlead to the individual openings;

FIG. 6 a preferred design in accordance with the invention having alinear slider;

FIG. 7 a further preferred design in accordance with the inventionhaving a rotary slider;

FIG. 8A to 8D different possible embodiments of a guide apparatus for aweb-shaped carrier medium; and

FIG. 9A to 9F show a preferred arrangement of the injection unit,wherein the FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B show the moisturization position of theinjection tube, the FIG. 9C and FIG. 9D show the emptying position ofthe injection tube and the FIG. 9E and FIG. 9F show the sealing positionof the injection tube each in a perspective view and in an end view.

FIG. 1 shows an apparatus 10 in accordance with the invention formoisturizing a carrier medium 12, such as a paper web 12, a material web12, a non-woven material web 12, a fabric web 12 or a knitted materialweb 12. The apparatus 10 has an injection unit 14 comprising an elongatehollow member 16 having a plurality of openings 18 spaced apart from oneanother in a longitudinal direction of the hollow member 16. Theapparatus 10 further comprises a pump 20 connected to the elongatehollow member 16 which pumps the moisturizing liquid through theelongate hollow member 16 and through the openings 18 and therebyinjects the liquid into and/or onto the carrier medium 12.

The FIG. 1 shows a guide apparatus 24 in which the web-like carriermedium 12 is guided to the injection unit 14 from a carrier mediumroller 30 via deflection rollers 26, 28 in such a way that the carriermedium 12 can be completely or partly guided around the injection tube16 at a defined spacing or without a defined spacing. This has theeffect that the liquid 22 can be applied directly into or substantiallydirectly onto the carrier medium 12. Following the moisturization of thecarrier medium 12, this is guided through an output mechanism 32 and/orpast an output mechanism 32. The output mechanism 32 is arranged at aninlet side 34 of the elongate hollow member 16 and enables thecollection of a sheet-like part 12, which can be output, of the web ofthe carrier medium 12 in the moisturized and/or wetted state without asubsequent part of the carrier medium 12 being moisturized. A separationdevice 36 is provided at the output mechanism 32, which can comprisee.g. a blade 36, a toothed edge 36 or a cutting apparatus 36, in orderto ensure the collection of the sheet-like part 12 of the web of thecarrier medium 12 in the moisturized and/or wet state. The web of thecarrier medium 12 can possibly be provided with a perforation or adifferent point of weakness, such as lateral incisions in order tosimplify the tearing of individual sections 12.

The output mechanism 32 is preferably controllable by means of anelectronic pulse generator 38. Thereby the desired amount of the liquid22 to be output and/or the precise length of the carrier medium 12 to bemoisturized, as well as the output speed of the carrier medium 12 can beset and/or regulated in a manner known per se by means of known controland regulation units 38. The output mechanism 32 can be connected to thepump 20 which can then simultaneously serve as an on/off mechanism forthe liquid supply 22 to the output mechanism 32 and for the separationfrom a liquid supply 40. This can be achieved particularly well when thepump 20 is configured as a positive displacement pump 20.

The injection of the liquid 22 takes place by means of an injection unit14 and is matched to the respective liquid 22 and the respective carriermedium 12 which are to be discharged. The concentration of certaincomponents in the liquid 22 can be measured by means of a measurementunit 42 in the injection unit 14. If this sinks below a certain minimumvalue, e.g. following a longer period of stand still, the injection unit14 is emptied before the dispensing onto the carrier medium 12 takesplace. The renewed pressure increase and the liquid supply then takeplace again via the variable metering pump 20. The amount of liquid andthe pressure are then regulated, as was previously the case, by means ofthe electronic control 38. By means of a selected matchable design ofthe pump 20, a plurality of different liquids 22 and a large range ofdispensed amounts of liquid 22 per unit area of the carrier medium 12can be covered, it is merely required to match the control of the pump20 to the respective desired metering and/or the respectively usedliquid 22. In this way a wide palette of applications can be covered ina cost-effective manner using a basic design. Also the length of theinjection unit 14 can be easily matched in accordance with therespective desired width of the web of the carrier medium 12 without thedesign of the pump 20 itself having to be changed.

The dispensable liquid 22 can be sourced from the liquid supply 40, e.g.a non-compressible bottle 40, wherein a controllable valve 46 is used inthe line 44 between the bottle 40 and the injection unit 14 which can beopened on the liquid retrieval and output due to the use of the pump 20.The valve 46 can be connected to the liquid supply 40 by means of a line48 which is provided between the valve 46 and the liquid supply 40 andin this way enables an air supply into the liquid supply 40 for apressure compensation and/or a forced ventilation. The forcedventilation thus prevents the generation of a vacuum in the liquidsupply 40. Alternatively, the liquid supply 40 can comprise athin-walled collapsible bottle 40 which can be compressed by theenvironmental pressure and in this way makes a ventilation line betweenthe injection unit 14 and the liquid supply 40 obsolete. The injectionsystem 14 is preferably designed closed and evaporation-safe. The liquidsupply is closed off in front of the injection unit 14 in the idle stateby means of the valve 46. The injection unit 14 is configured in such away that for a continuous, a cyclic and an acyclic operation, as well asduring/following an idle time no loss of content arises and an idealeffect is present at any point in time. The valve 46 can also bearranged between the pump 20 and the liquid supply 40 and/or can beintegrated into the pump 20.

The liquid 22 is injected at a pressure into the carrier medium 12 bymeans of a single jet or multiple jets. The jet is effected in ahomogeneous (compact) manner into the carrier medium 12 or directly ontothe carrier medium 12. The apparatus 10 in accordance with the inventionallows the controlled, complete, atomization-free and completelyevaporation-free or substantially evaporation-free liquid impingement ofdifferent carrier media 12. The apparatus 10 allows the carrier medium12 to be impinged uniformly with a constant amount of liquid 22 per unitarea and that no or only a very small amount of the contents of theliquid 22 can evaporate during the impingement process. The carriermedium 12 is impinged with the liquid 22 in such a way that thisdistributes itself completely covering the surface of the carrier medium12. The guidance of the carrier medium 12 in the region of the injectionunit 14 permits the loss-free and complete impingement of the same witha liquid 22. The carrier medium 12 is guided completely or partly aroundthe injection tube 16 without a defined spacing or at a defined spacing.The injection system can be equipped with an electronic monitoring andreporting in order to indicate the filling level of the liquid level 22and/or the still remaining amounts of carrier medium 12 to a central(not shown) position by means of an interface 50, possibly a wirelesscommunication option.

An emptying of the liquid, either the amount which is present in thehollow member 16 or also from the liquid supply 40 can take placethrough a bleeder valve 52, when the used liquid 22 no longer satisfiescertain minimum requirements, e.g. following longer idle times and/orbecause a best before date has been exceeded. Generally, the measurementapparatus 42 monitors concentration values for certain components of theliquid 22. Should these no longer correspond to the minimum requirementsthen the bleeder valve 52 can be opened and the liquid 22 present in thehollow member 16 can in this way be emptied out at its ends 54. When theliquid supply 40 should be emptied then this can be indicated either atthe apparatus 10 in accordance with the invention and/or by means of adata communication via the interface 50 to, e.g. an operating personal,in such a way that these can then remove the liquid 22 via the bleedervalve 52.

The FIG. 2 is an enlarged illustration of the hollow tube 16 of theembodiment in accordance with FIG. 1. In this it is exemplified that thelength of the hollow tube 16 can be freely selected and can be matchedsimply to the desired width of the carrier medium 12.

As can be seen from the FIG. 3 the openings 18 of the hollow member 16can be arranged in at least two rows about the longitudinal axis of theelongate hollow member 16 and/or can have different outlet angles forthe liquid 22 in the longitudinal direction of the elongate hollowmember 16 and/or are in radial planes with respect to the saidlongitudinal axis. The outlet angle is preferably oriented away from theoutput roller 30 in such a way that the output roller 30 at leastsubstantially conveys a dry material web 12.

The FIG. 4 shows different alternatives for the shape of the outline ofthe openings 18 of the elongate hollow member 16. The shape of theoutline of an opening 18 can be selected circular, oval, elliptical,quadratic, rectangular, triangular and polygonal. The precise shape ofthe opening 18 is generally selected in such a way that this allows anas good as possible distribution of the liquid 22 at and/or into thecarrier medium 12. It would also be possible to provide different sizesand/or shapes of the openings 18 along the hollow member 16 in such away that e.g. smaller openings 18 are provided at the edge of the hollowmember 16, rather than in the middle of the hollow member 16. In otherwords, the cross-sectional area of the openings 18 along a hollow member16 can be selected in such a way that these are either alike ordifferent.

The FIGS. 5A to 5H show that the passages 56 in the walls 58 of theelongate hollow member 16 which open at the openings 18 have a shapewhich, starting from the interior of the elongate hollow member 16 andgoing towards the outside, is selected from the group comprisingconverging, diverging, initially converging and subsequently diverging,initially converging and subsequently diverging, trumpet-shaped andvase-shaped. This different form of the passages 56 enables a moreprecise setting of the distribution of the liquid 22 which exits fromthe openings 18 and is brought into contact with the carrier medium 12.

As is shown in FIG. 6 the elongate hollow member 16 of the injectionunit 14 can be configured in order to cooperate with a hollow slider 60which hollow slider 60 is configured for carrying out a relativemovement with respect to the elongate hollow member 16. This relativemovement serves for a release and/or a closure of the said openings 18.The slider 60 of FIG. 6 is arranged within the elongate hollow member 16could, however, in comparison be arranged outside of the elongate hollowmember 16. To open and to close the opening 18 the elongate hollowmember 16 could be fixedly arranged and the slider 60 could be movablyarranged.

Alternatively the slider 60 could be fixedly arranged and the elongatehollow member 16 could be movably arranged. It could also be possiblethat both the slider 60 and the elongate hollow member 16 are movable.Independent thereof of how the relative movement between the slider 60and the hollow member 16 is brought about, this relative movementbetween the slider 60 and the elongate hollow member 16 can preferablybe carried out in such a way that the opening width of the openings 18can be controlled for metering the liquid dispensing. Both the elongatehollow member 16 and the slider 60 of the FIG. 6 are respectively formedby a hollow tubular section, wherein one of the hollow tubular sectionscan have a longitudinal slot in the longitudinal direction, this meansit can be of C-shaped design.

The FIG. 7 shows a variant of a slider 60 which is configured for theoutputting of the liquid 22 in such a way that it is configured for arotational movement with respect to the elongate hollow member 16.However, it would also be plausible to provide a slider 60 whichcombines the linear movement of the slider 60 of FIG. 6 with therotational movement of the slider 60 of FIG. 7 and in this way isconfigured for carrying out a combined rotational and linear movement.Seals 62 are arranged between the slider 60 and the elongate hollowmember 16 in order to avoid leaks, in particular in the closed state ofthe openings 18 for all the variants of sliders 60 listed in thiscontext.

FIGS. 8A to 8D show the guidance of the carrier medium 12 past theelongate hollow member 16 which is configured for the output of themoisturizing liquid 22. FIG. 8A shows that the carrier medium 12 isguided to the hollow member by means of three deflection rollers 26, 28,64 in a rest position of the apparatus 10 in accordance with theinvention. A movable deflection roller 66 is present spaced apart fromthe hollow member 16 in a rest position. The FIG. 8B shows how thismovable deflection roller 66 can be brought from its rest position intoan active position during the activation of the apparatus 10 in order toguide the carrier medium 12 into direct contact with the hollow member16.

The FIG. 8C shows a perspective top view onto the hollow member 16 inwhich the movable deflection roller 66 is present in an active positionand the carrier medium 12 to be moisturized is guided past the openings18 of the hollow member 16 to the output mechanism 32. FIG. 8D shows aside view of the apparatus 14 in accordance with FIG. 8C.

The apparatus 10 in accordance with the invention can be used instationary conditions or mobile conditions. The minimum volume of theinjection unit 14 depends on the amount of the carrier medium 12 to bemoisturized and at a minimum amounts to 4000 m³ respectively 4 ml. Thesystem pressure can vary between +0.005 bar and +15.00 or more. Thecarrier medium 12 is impinged uniformly and areally with a certainregulatable amount of liquid 22 by means of the injection tube 16. Theoutput amount of liquid is determined by the system pressure, thearrangement, the design and the construction of the outlet opening 18,as well as by the volume(s) of the injection tube(s) 18.

The outlet opening(s) 18 of the injection tube(s) 16 is/are designed insuch a way that the adhesive/cohesive behavior of the liquid 22 during apressure-free state and/or a rest state completely or partly prevents anexit or evaporation of the same. The arrangement of the outlet openings18 is symmetric, asymmetric or both in dependence on the properties ofthe liquid 22. The shape of the outlet openings 18 per injection tube 16can be implemented uniformly or mixed depending on the properties of theliquid 22. The sidewalls 56 of the outlet opening 18 can be linear,convex, concave or mixed. The inlet and outlet edge of the opening 18can taper, can be provided with a radius or can be chamfered. Thediameter of the outlet opening 18 can be different at the inlet and atthe outlet. The inner diameter of the narrowest part of the outletopening 18 can range from 0.005 mm to 2.00 mm or more. The narrowest orwidest position of the outlet opening 18 can be arranged centrally ordeviating downwardly or upwardly. Inlet and outlet angles of the outletopening 18 can be different. The dispensing angle of the dispensingopenings 18 can be at a right angle or in a deviating angular positionwith respect to the injection tube 16.

E.g. a paper web 12 can be used as a carrier medium 12 which weighsbetween 10 g/m² and 200 g/m² this can be impinged with 5 ml/m² up to 100ml/m² liquid 22.

With reference to the FIGS. 9A to 9F a very particularly preferredembodiment will now be discussed.

A first position of the injection tube 16 of an injection unit 14 inaccordance with any one of the foregoing Figures, in particular inaccordance with the FIG. 7, is shown in the FIG. 9A to 9B for themoisturization of the material web 12 with liquid 22, this means for theinjection of the liquid 22 into the material web 12. The injection tube16 is turned during the moisturization against the medium 12 to bemoisturized in such a way that the outlet openings 18 are aligned inthat direction. In this position the jet is incident at approximately“right angles” on the material web 12 arranged in the direct vicinity ofthe injection tube and preferably contacting the injection tube. Forthis purpose the injection tube 16 is rotatably stored and isautomatically turned between the different positions explained inconnection with the FIGS. 9A to 9F by means of an electric servo motor(not shown), a magnetic switch having a plurality of switching positions(not shown) or a similar drive (not shown).

The FIGS. 9C and 9D show a second position of the injection tube 16 ofthe injection unit 14 in which the injection tube 16 is downwardlyarranged for the purpose of the injection and/or emptying. This meansthat the injection tube 16 is turned about the central longitudinal axisA into a position in which the jet of the liquid 22 can exit downwardlyinto the “free space”. This position is selected for cleaning purposesand for an insufficient density of the liquids 22 which can, forexample, arise due to evaporation losses. Also in this case, the controltakes place automatically can, if desired, however, also be triggered bythe user. The liquid 22 can be caught in a suitable container (notshown).

The FIGS. 9E and 9F show a third position of the injection tube 16, ofthe injection unit 14 in which the injection tube 16 is rotated into astop position in which the injection tube 16 is closed and/or sealedagainst a liquid dispensing. In this connection the injection tube canbe closed and/or sealed by a stationary hollow tube 68 partly grippingaround the injection tube 16. This means that the injection tube 16 isturned into a “rest position” following the successful moisturizingprocess. In this position the outlet openings 18 of the injection tube16 are closed and/or are sealed by a “contact” (hollow tubular section,bar-shaped part or seal).

The stationary hollow tubular section 68 can be provided with anelongate section which enables the moisturization of the material web 14and the emptying of the injection tube 16 in the first and secondposition in an unhindered manner. Instead of using a hollow tubularsection 68 partly gripping around the injection tube 16 a bar-shapedpart can be arranged in parallel to the injection tube 16 which takes onthe corresponding function, this means the closure of the opening and/orthe openings 18 of the injection tube 16. Furthermore, the supportpresent on the injection tube 16, can be arranged stationary or movableregardless of whether it is formed by a hollow tubular section 68 or bya bar-shaped part. Movable in the sense that it can be rotated bothabout the longitudinal axis A or stored in a fixed manner and can alsobe moved to and fro.

Independent thereof which arrangement is selected, this means whether astationary hollow tubular section 68 gripping around the injection tube16 or whether a movable hollow tubular section 68 (which would also bepossible) partly gripping around the injection tube 16 or whether abar-shaped termination part is selected, a complete seal or at least ahigh quality seal can be achieved by means of suitable seals 70.

The shape and design of the seal 70 can be arbitrarily selected. It can,for example, be realized by a squashable plastic strip which is adheredwithin the section 68 partly gripping around the injection tube 16 suchthat the opening and/or the openings 18 in the injection tube 16 arecompletely bridged in the third position and for this reason seals thisor can be formed by individual O-rings which respectively surround anoutlet opening 18 in the injection tube 16 in the third position of thesame. On use of a bar-shaped termination part also an elongate plasticstrip 70 or O-rings 70 can be used or the termination part 68 itself canbe formed from an elastic material and in this way take on the sealingfunction. The cross-sectional shape of the seal 70 can, for example, beoval, rectangular, circular or quadratic.

The injection tube 16 of the FIGS. 9A to 9F can also be positioned in anaxially fixed manner when the hollow tubular section 68 partly grippingaround the injection tube 16 is movably arranged and is turned about thelongitudinal axis of the injection tube 16 and/or is guided along thelongitudinal axis A of the injection tube 16. Such an axial displacementthen comes into question when the hollow tubular section 68 is e.g.provided with slots running over a part of the circumference of thehollow tubular section 68 which in the first position align with theopenings 18 of the injection tube 16 but in the third position do notalign with the openings 18 and in this way achieve a seal. The hollowtubular section 68 can also be designed both rotatable and movable insuch a way that a rotation and a displacement of the hollow tubularsection 68 can take place.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   10 apparatus-   12 carrier medium-   14 injection unit-   16 hollow member-   18 openings-   20 pump-   22 liquid-   24 guide apparatus-   26 deflection roller-   28 deflection roller-   30 carrier medium roller-   32 output mechanism-   34 inlet side-   36 separation apparatus-   38 pulse generator-   40 liquid supply-   42 measurement unit-   44 line-   46 valve-   48 line-   50 interface-   52 valve-   54 end-   56 passage-   58 wall-   60 slider-   62 seal-   64 deflection roller-   66 deflection roller-   68 hollow tubular section-   70 seal-   A longitudinal axis

1-21. (canceled)
 22. An apparatus (10) for moisturizing a carrier medium (12) having an injection unit (14) comprising an elongate hollow member (16) having one opening (18) or having a plurality of openings (18) spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction, and comprising a pump (20) which is connected to the elongate hollow member (16) and which pumps the moisturizing liquid (22) through the elongate hollow member (16) and through the opening (18) or the openings (18) and hereby injects a single jet or a multi-jet into the carrier medium (12).
 23. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 22, further comprising a guide apparatus (24) which guides the carrier medium (12) into the direct region of the injection unit (14).
 24. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 23, wherein the guide apparatus (24) is configured for guiding the carrier medium (12) completely or partly around the injection tube (16) at a defined spacing or without a defined spacing.
 25. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 22, wherein the liquid (22) can be applied directly into or at least substantially directly onto the carrier medium (12).
 26. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 22, further comprising an output mechanism (32) which is arranged at the hollow member and enables the collection of a sheet-like part (12), which can be output, of the web the carrier medium (12) in the wet state without a subsequent part (12) being moisturized.
 27. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 26, wherein the output mechanism (32) is arranged at the inlet side (34) of the elongate hollow member (16).
 28. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 26, wherein the output mechanism (32) can be controlled by means of an electronic pulse generator (28).
 29. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 22, wherein the elongate hollow member (16) of the injection unit (14) cooperates with a hollow slider (60) which is configured for carrying out a relative movement with respect to the elongate hollow member (16) which slider serves for a release and/or for a closure of the said openings (18).
 30. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 29, wherein the slider (60) is arranged inside of or outside of the elongate hollow member (16).
 31. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 29, wherein the slider (60) is configured for carrying out a linear movement or a rotational movement with respect to the elongate hollow member (16) or is configured for carrying out a combined rotational and linear movement.
 32. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 29, wherein for opening and closing the said openings (18) either the elongate hollow member (16) is fixedly arranged and the slider (60) is movably arranged or the slider (60) is fixedly arranged and the elongate hollow member (16) is movably arranged or both the slider (60) and the elongate hollow member (16) can be moved.
 33. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 29, wherein the relative movement of the slider (60) and of the elongate hollow member (16) can be carried out in such a way that the opening width of the openings (18) can be controlled for metering the liquid dispensing.
 34. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 29, wherein seals (62) are arranged between the slider (60) and the elongate hollow member (16) in order to avoid leaks.
 35. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 34, wherein the seals (62) are arranged between the slider (60) and the elongate hollow member (16) in order to avoid leaks in the closed state of the openings (18).
 36. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 29, wherein both the elongate hollow member (16) and the slider (60) are formed by a respective hollow tubular section, wherein one of the hollow tubular sections can have a longitudinal slot in the longitudinal direction, this means it is of C-shaped design.
 37. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 29, wherein the at least one opening (18) of the elongate hollow member (16) and/or of the hollow tube (16) has/have outlines which are selected from the group comprising circular, oval, elliptical, quadratic, rectangular, triangular and polygonal.
 38. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 29, wherein the cross-sectional surfaces of the openings (18) are selected alike or different.
 39. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 29, the passages (56) in the wall (58) of the elongate hollow member (16) which open at the openings (18) have a shape which, starting from the interior of the elongate hollow section (16) and going towards the outside, is selected from the group comprising converging, diverging, initially converging and subsequently diverging, initially converging and subsequently diverging, trumpet-shaped and vase-shaped.
 40. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 29, wherein the liquid (22) can be output from a non-collapsible bottle (40) and a controllable valve (46) is installed in the line (48) between the bottle (40) and the injection unit (14) which valve is opened by the pump (20) on the retrieval of liquid and on the output of liquid and which enables an air supply into the bottle (40) for a pressure compensation.
 41. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 29, wherein a thin-walled bottle compressible by the environmental pressure, this means a collapsible bottle (40), is used.
 42. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 22, wherein the pump (20) serves as an on/off valve for the liquid supply and separation from a supply container (40).
 43. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 29, wherein the openings (18) are arranged in at least two rows about the longitudinal axis of the elongate hollow member (16) and/or have different outlet angles for the liquid (22) in the longitudinal direction of the elongate hollow member (16) and/or are arranged in radial planes with respect to the said longitudinal axis.
 44. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 22, wherein the injection tube (16) can be moved between at least two positions, a moisturizing position and a sealing position.
 45. The apparatus (10) in accordance with claim 22, wherein the injection tube (16) can also be moved into an emptying position. 